Public parking charges across the island will go up by as much as 27 per cent from December, when the results of a government review on carpark fees kick in.

Under the new charges, drivers will have to pay $1.20 per half hour - up from $1 now - to park in the Restricted Zone (RZ), or city area. Outside the RZ, it will cost $0.60 per half hour, up from $0.50.

Monthly season parking rates will also go up by between $15 and $20 for each household's first car. Residents who use carparks with both surface and sheltered lots will have to pay $95 a month, up from $75 - an increase of 27 per cent. Households will have to pay more for subsequent cars.

The Housing Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) made these changes public yesterday, after The Straits Times reported last month that a review was under way.

This will be the first time public parking rates are being hiked since 2002, when rates were increased about 10 per cent.

Since then, "the costs of building, operating and managing carparks have increased due to general inflation, as well as construction, manpower and other related maintenance costs", said the HDB and URA in their statement yesterday.

The Straits Times

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